Sorry to hear about your sister's fiance!  You cannot possibly be blamed.  He could have as easily been hit while walking or biking.

And many thanks for the time you are taking to write this!  Your sobering, first-hand accounts are worth far more than all the speculative writing that is out there (and there is a lot).

Glad I found this thread.  I will have to read all of it later.

My wife is from a former soviet state that still suffers since the fall of the USSR.  She was a teen when the curtain fell so she experienced or witnessed alot of turmoil.  All the money her fam had saved in the bank, equal to the cost of two house/landlots, was made worthless overnight and there was nothing to buy commercially or retail anyway.  Luckily her father was very resourceful and respected so he was able to always put food on the table, and was able to coordinate or give/loan to neighbors even.  They have a walled yard/compound type setup that they were able to build up the stone walls, fence, and plant.  They also had pigs that they were able to breed and sell surplus.  
My bro in law said people would openly carry AKs and pistols everywhere and even dogs were used as weapons to rob or protect.  Along one famous ancient road route all the trees that were basically sacred were cut for fuel along w/ almost all other trees in the country.  Prostitution for survival was rampant.

I will ask her about how the relatives that were in the city faired.  I didnt' hear those stories yet.  

Perhaps you and your wife would like to share some stories? I'm sure OP won't mind.
Some of the former USSR republics (especially the southern ones) were hit hard once Russia quit supplying food and other goods that kept them afloat. It's not that they had a high standard of living before the collapse but USSR supplied them with essential items to survive. Cuba was hit hard as well when USSR cut the "umbilical cord" in the early 90's. Same thing happened with all the former Soviet Block countries in Eastern Europe.

Sad part is that some people have not learned anything. I read a lot of comments on Russian forums about how great USSR was and how terrible life is now. Most of those comments are made by the younger generation and those who were wearing diapers when USSR collapsed. They have not personally experienced life in the Soviet Union. Like I said in some of my previous posts, many people think and act like sheep, no matter where they live and what language they speak. This is my personal opinion, of course.

This is something I wanted to ask Ferfal, too.  What does a collapse like that do to relationships?  Business, personal, family, romantic, dating, marriage, church, etc. Do people become closer?  Is there more stress between everyone?  Less?  

For instance, in business, are things more cut-throat due to less opportunity?  Or do people get along better because everyone is in a crap situation together?

How about dating?  These days in America the millennial women don't want to hear that their men won't be able to give them the same standard of living as their parents.  They'll be too busy paying off the $20TN of debt that financed that standard of living in the first place.

Gyprat,

Was there ever a point in the rough times that you felt that you were totally on your own in regards to providing food, water, shelter and protection to your family? The government was totally non existent and you thought "normal" wasn't coming back? The framework of money and laws was gone forever?

I guess what I'm getting at is during most of the shtf events here in the states generally the plan is to hold tight and wait for the calvery (big gov) to ride in to the rescue. There's really not a lot of chance of our government dissappearing so we all just assume we are in a temporary situation.

If would be a very scary feeling to think the economic and legal  framework that makes civilized life possible has vanished.

Side note: I vote this thread is the best and definitely most useful ever in the survival form.

This is a tough question. There is no simple "black and white" answer. Like I said in several of my previous posts, life was not "peachy" before the collapse. People were a lot more hardened. Many older people lived through the World War II and experienced what you can't even imagine. Soviet Union lost over 20 million people during the war. Most families, including mine, lost at least one member. About as many people lost their lives during Stalin's political repressions prior to the war. Most older people were expert survivalists without even realizing it. Before and during the war, the people who did not learn survival skills or could not adjust to quickly changing conditions, simply perished. This includes many people with physical problems or mental issues. It was a perverted form of a natural selection, if I can call it this. The fact remains that the strongest survived. They taught the skills to their children and grandchildren.
Unfortunately, having the survival skills and experience was not enough to survive the collapse of the Soviet Union. What older people lacked was an ability to quickly adjust to the new reality, the reality they were not mentally prepared for. As we get older, we loose an ability to learn new things as quickly as we did in the younger days. We also loose physical strength and stamina. It's also hard to compete with the younger people on the job market. Many older retired people were living on their government provided pension which was a lot lower than an average wage at that time.

One thing I can tell you is that most older people were committed to their life partners (wives and husbands) and they stayed committed after the collapse. Many relationships ever grew closer because they had to support each other. They also had solid moral principles. Being selfish was considered a very negative trait in a person's behavior. With all the negative things that attributed to the political climate in the country, some things were positive. Most Russians, including myself, were taught to care about people around us. We were taught to think how our actions would affect others. Doing what's best for me was considered as a negative selfish behavior. This is one of the few things I have kept in my moral "compass". Many people did not. Is it good or bad? You decide. Newer generation of Russians have different set of values and I'm not here to judge them.

Of course the collapse did affect relationships in a lot of ways. Many younger couples could not handle the stress of being committed in the new conditions and got divorced.  You see, there always has been more females in Russia than males. This goes back to the WW2 when most males lost their lives. A guy could easily find girls to date or to have a relationship with. This was a lot harder for the females. This is why many females stayed committed and married to their husbands even of they knew that their husbands cheated on them.
The same problem exists now. When I visited Russia, many of my guy friends who are married, casually told me about their younger mistresses, like it was a normal thing. Yes my friends in their 40's or even 50's have told me about their 20-some year old mistresses like it was a normal thing.
To be honest, I had a hard time dating girls here in the US when I moved here. Most were very selfish and acted like world revolved around them.  This was tough to comprehend for me, coming from a culture where girls basically chased guys. LOL. I'm not saying that all American girls are selfish, but it seems like all the good ones are taken very quickly and there are a lot of fat ugly ones who think they are beautiful queens. This is my honest opinion. Feel free to tell me that I'm wrong. This is why many American guys, including myself, went to Russia to find wives. Many were shocked to find beautiful girls who were loyal, faithful and committed. Of course, some found the "bad apples" and were used. Most of the guys I met, who had a Russian wife, were very happy.

As far as business relations go. Well, at first there were very few private businesses anyway. Many people continued to go to work even if they did not get paid for 6 months. Yes, most people felt like they were in the crap together and got alone just fine. This changed once the big money started to come in. Many got rich by simply stealing the formerly government owned assets and selling it to the western buyers. Money and wealth were like hard drugs for many people. There were cut-throat deals, business related murders and kidnappings. Many got extremely rich and remained rich while many got rich and lost everything quickly, sometimes that included their lives. This got a lot worse during the mid to late 90's when mafia and criminal bosses pretty much ran the country. Nowadays the mafia is in the Kremlin and it seems like only those who are on the president's side are allowed to get rich. People are being brainwashed again, like they were back in the Soviet times. History keeps repeating itself.

Business is cutthroat today, in this fat and happy country. That will never change. You're personal value on the outcome will likely change.

It depends on your definition of  - "Cut Throat". Things are a lot more civilized in this country. Yes, we have problems, especially in the health care industry where there is no healthy competition. Fortunately, majority of the business owners do respect the law. Business conflicts are not resolved through a bullet in a competitor's head fired by a hired killer. Competitors are not eliminated by a grenade thrown through a front window or an AKM magazine fired at a close range, in the middle of the day. Corporate CEO's don't need to drive in bullet proof vehicles and don't need a dozen of bodyguards with them at all times.

Yes, there is crime in this country but to be honest, the media makes it look much worse than it really is. When I first got to the US, I was used to always have a good situational awareness and always be ready to "fight or flight". Over the many years I got a lot more relaxed because, no matter that what the media wants you to believe, life is quite safe here in America and an average person can live quite comfortably.

I mean it's competitive and regardless of how nice and well intentioned people may come across as, they are usually only concerned with their own well being and will lie, cheat and steal to accomplish their goals. This is in the good times in a prosperous industry and a safe country. I guess my point is, if you can't trust them now when a "new Mercedes-Benz" is at stake you sure won't be able to when the stakes are raised.

This, my friend, is how human race is. This is why wars are started. In my opinion of course. This is why communism is a dangerous ideology and will never work. People are selfish beings. Technically, communism is a wonderful idea, in theory. Read more about it if you don't agree with me.
The communism is when everyone works and contributes to their best abilities and consumes based on their needs. Would not it be a perfect society? No conflicts, everyone is honest and does their best, everyone takes only what they need and not what they want. Do you think it can be done? Russian "1917 revolution founding fathers" like Lenin did believe it was possible. We all know the results of what happened when they attempted to reach this goal. Tens of millions were consumed by the communist machine but they still failed to re-engineer the human beings.

You see, in my humble opinion, human beings can be controlled by two things: fear and hope. In the beginning of the communist revolution in Russia, back in the early 20th century, communists managed to control people by feeding them hope. This is how the 1917 revolution happened. People were promised wonderful life. Thanks to the propaganda machine, many people really bought that lie. They were told that once all the "burzhui" (Bourgeois - rich people) were eliminated and their wealth is taken and distributed to the poor, everyone would live a happy life (sounds familiar, doesn't it?). The wealth was taken by force and given to the poor. The wealth was quickly consumed and there was nothing left to replace it with. Then the communists used fear to control the masses. We all know the results. Read about Stalin's gulag and tens of millions of citizens were declared as enemies of the state and eliminated by the communist machine.

I was young back then and full of "piss and vinegar". After the August 91 events that I mentioned in my first post, it was clear that things were never going to be the same again. I was not living alone and never felt that I was totally on my own. The government never seized to exist. We still had the absolute minimums provided by the government controlled services.
Our family, like most Russian families back then, had a huge advantage over an average family here in the US (survival-wise of course). We owned the place we lined in. We could survive on very little. Electricity was relatively cheap and we did not require a lot. Natural gas was almost free because we paid an equivalent of 50 cents per month for an unlimited use. There was a relatively reliable and "dirt cheap" public transportation in the city we live in. Most stores and places we went to were close, because most Russian cities were very compact and not as spread out as an average city in the US.

All we needed to survive was some money to buy food. Obviously we could not afford to eat out or to buy things like pizza and pre-cooked foods or soft drinks. We managed to survive on very little. I had a great part time business that brought a lot more money than both of my parents earned at their full-time jobs. It was tough but we managed to make it through.
After I emigrated to the US, I always sent money back to my parents, so they did better than an average family.

Unfortunately, many people did think that cavalry would show up and provide for them. Some basically sat on their butts and waited to someone to come over and save them. They sat and complained about everything and everyone. Many people in their 40's continued to go to work that paid very little and often delayed paying anything for like 6 month. They are the ones who barely survived living on their older parent's pension. They literally survived on bread and water. Even pensions were often delayed.
This is why I constantly mention an ability to quickly adjust and adapt as being one of the main survival skills.  Good health is another very important thing. Having skills and knowledge is also very important. Obviously, having a family and friends that care about you is one of the essential things in life. Everything else is secondary. Several years worth of stored food or solar panels on your survival house will have very little meaning if you are not prepared to handle SHTF mentally and have no ability to adjust / adapt quickly.
For example, I read threads on survival forums where people constantly complain about the government or illegal aliens for all their problems. They are pissed with everything and spend most of their money and energy on preparing for some event that may never happen, while forgetting to live their lives. There is nothing wrong with being prepared but many people get obsessed with it and forget to take a break and "smell the roses". They forget to live their lives. Think about this. if they are pissed with everything now, how do you think they will be able to handle a real SHTF? I have seen that kind of people simply drinking themselves to death when real hard times arrived. They simply could not handle the new reality mentally.
Based on my observations, generally those who did well before the collapse, did well during and after the collapse. They were able to adjust to the reality of living under communist government and they learned quickly to live during the early and current stages of Russian capitalism.

Such a good thread.  Thank you!!!  

I agree. I compare a properly managed campfire to communism. Or even a happy family unit. Did you know people, outside of family, before the hard times that proved loyal and decent thru the bad times?

Excellent posts Gyprat. Very well reasoned.

Look at how people act when the road gets shut down for something like an accident. Some people will sit in traffic and complain endlessly. Others will sit for a short time while looking for an alternate route. Once they find an alternate route, they quickly head out. The route might be longer and less direct....but it gets then where they need to go.  Others won't do that because the route ahead is the only route they know well and is also the shortest. So they sit and hope the route opens soon. But, hope is not a course of action.

For too many people, they only function on hopes and dreams. You can't eat or stay warm with hopes and dreams. But, lots of people only have hope. They never develop a course of action.

As Gyprat suggested, please invite your wife here akrado and have her share her experience of the Soviet collapse.  If she won't, won't you?

Great lessons. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences.

You are very welcome. I will continue writing as long as there is enough interest.

17k views in a non GD forum. You have the attention of the survival forum.

Seriously this is one of the threads I always check for new posts. You are a great writer and story teller.

IMHO its the most relevant 'survival' post I've ever seen here. We've had some good ones but first hand experience from a 'been there done that' guy is absolutely invaluable.

I will post a link to a U-tube documentary that describes the real story of what USSR was founded on. Hopefully this will help you understand why I left that country. This is why I consider myself an American and I'm proud to be a US citizen.
Sad part is that this documentary or any similar videos would be banned in Russia today. Younger generation is being brain washed again to believe that the Soviet Union was the "paradise on Earth" and all of the problems have been caused by the western imperialists. History is repeating itself. I'm honestly surprised that no Russian "Putin worshiping patriots" have joined this discussion and called me a traitor.
LINK to watch on Youtube.

MAY 9, 1945

On May 9, 1945 Germany signed a document to surrender and this day was officially set as a Great Patriotic War Victory Day. Since then, May 9th has always been an important holiday with parades all over the country.

This victory cost the Soviet Union over 30 million lives. Half the country was in ruins but people managed to survive and to fight a huge German war machine. Those who could not fight (women and children), worked long hours at factories to support the troops. Yes, even 12 year old kids were working long hours at the factories, while nearly starving. We all owe those people dearly.

My family lost a lot of lives in that war. One of my grandpas managed to survive. He was drafted in 1941 and he made it all the way to Berlin, in 1945 as an infantry platoon commander. He was right in the middle of the Stalingrad battle. He told me a lot of scary stories that I will never forget.  

My grandmother told me about the Victory Day in 1945. It was very special. Many people were dancing out in the streets but many were crying in disbelief. All paid a huge price for the victory.

I hope and pray that it never happens again.

I have always wondered what the actual Soviet people (citizens not military) thought of the way the war was managed. Did they think the government was wasting millions of lives needlessly? Or were they convinced that the government was running the war in the most logical way given the circumstances and the huge number of lives lost while tragic were an unavoidable consequence of Soviet survival and therefore an acceptable price to pay. The Soviet Union paid an insane human price for survival and later victory. As you said earlier the effects on the population demographics are still felt to this day.  Do modern Russians feel any connections to the struggles of their grandparents? Or is it like so many things .... simply the past? As I said in an earlier post I think US education woefully under teaches the Soviet/Russian history. So much efforts are spent on Soviet/Russian government that we don't look at the civilian population and their mindsets.

I was going to write a few paragraphs about the Chernobyl disaster but noticed your questions. Might as well answer them first. I'll try to write about Chernobyl sometime later, as I promised.

Did the citizens thing the war was properly managed? Well..... It's easy to sit here in a comfortable chair and discuss what was done right or what was done wrong. Like I said, winners always write the history books.
People were lied to before the war. The government were the experts in lies and disinformation. Of course the citizens believed that the war was properly managed and they were praising Stalin for winning the war. Those who believed the opposite, kept their mouths shut or were executed as enemy collaborators.
Of course lives were wasted, like in any war. Millions of lives were wasted before the war even started.  A lot of great military commanders were executed during the "purge" or the late 30's when millions of people were sent to the Siberian "Gulag" exterminating machine.
Stalin refused to believe that Germany was getting ready to attack. He believed that Hitler would keep the agreement. No preparations were made. When Germany attacked, there was very little resistance. Of course this is not what we learned in the history classes. In reality, Stalin and the Soviet Government did not win the war, Soviet citizens did. They are the ones who crushed the mighty Nazi military machine. Over 30 million lives were lost. Cities were destroyed, families broken and separated but people never gave up. We all should be thankful for that.
Yes, the price they paid was insane but they achieved the impossible, against all odds.

Do modern Russians feel any connections to the struggles of their grandparents?  I can't say for modern Russians since I have not lived there for 25+ years. My generation certainly felt a lot of connections. Our grandparents fought the War. I mentioned this a lot on my previous posts. My grandparents often referred to the WW2 and what it was like to live during that time. Grandparents told us about the struggles and sacrifices they had to make during the war time. At least half the movies we saw on TV, were about the War. Of course the movies did not show the real facts but the struggles were portrayed quite realistically. Of course in the Soviet MosFilm movies, like in Hollywood movies, the Russian soldiers never ran out of ammunition and always shot several Germans with just one bullet. I'm sure Germans showed the complete opposite in their propaganda films.

One thing I can tell you. From young age, we were taught to hate war, any war or any armed conflict. All of the military training we were exposed to, was concentrated primarily on defense training only. We were never trained to fight in other climates or weather conditions for the same reason. I'm sure we were not told everything and my military experience is somewhat limited as well. The "defense only doctrine" did not seem to bother the Soviet leadership when they decided to get involved in the Afghanistan. This was called - International Help and it was our "honorary responsibility" (we were told so) to help Afghani people.
Nowadays the younger generation of Russians is being brainwashed again. Some even volunteer to fight in Ukraine, believing they will be fighting the "western fascists". They worship Putin and think that their way is the only way to peace in the whole world. The history is repeating itself.

Care to share your grandfather's stories from Stalingrad to Berlin?  All too often what we get here in the West is a "Soviet" sanitized version or very pro-German perspective (from German survivors) of that war.

I don't post much but I feel like I need to. This is my favorite thread on ARFCOM. I really enjoy reading your insights @Gyprat. Thank you for posting and I hope to read more in the future.

I've been debating whether to continue posting in this thread. Apparently several people did not like reading this and sent me nasty hate e-mails. I guess Russians are universally hated here in the US, since the last presidential elections. I can see it everywhere I go.
First of all, I'm a US citizen, just like most people on this board. My citizenship was granted based on naturalization, your was most likely based on birth. The only true Americans are the native americans. The rest of us can technically be considered as illegal invaders. This country was based on immigration. This is what makes it very unique. If you hate immigrants, take a closer look at yourself in a mirror. I've paid more in taxes than many people earned. I have also contributed to create new jobs in several states. This gives me the right to talk about politics and to make conclusions based on my life experiences. Don't like it? Go elsewhere!
Have a nice day.

I have interacted with you online, on the phone and on the radio and would be hard pressed to encounter a better gentleman than your self.

The haters can fuck right off and please keep posting. I enjoy your story.

Fuck them. I have enjoyed your post and am grateful for your willingness to share your personal stories with us. Those that don't like it can go back to DU.

Please do not abandon this thread. I personally find it enlightening. I embrace learning from history. Seems when we don't, we repeat it.

If all the decent posters let the idiots drive them out, this place would quickly look like so many sites that have come and gone. Illegitimi non carborundum.

Frankly, I'd expected most of your hate mail to come from the Putin bots (it's often frowned on even here on arf to suggest modern Russia is so much worse than the US - they're the last bastion of Christian civilization against the savage hordes, after all). Posting about how success in life pre-collapse often predicted success post collapse probably isn't winning you certain friends either.

Am definitely surprised people are associating you in any way with the current Kremlin propaganda stream - if anything, you're a counter to it.

I've had the advantage of hearing a lot more of these types of stories than most, but still enjoy reading yours.

Who are the haters? Out them right here or in another SF thread so we know who to put on ignore.

This.

Please don't let hate mail bring you down. Keep posting in spite of the haters. Don't let them win.

Count me as another who has enjoyed reading about your experiences, observations and insights. I sincerely hope you can find the motivation to ignore the assholes and keep posting.

There will ALWAYS be stupid and ignorant folks, no matter where you are, or where you go, but that doesn't mean they are the majority, and you can't let the behavior of a few idiots drive your decisions and choices.

Out of curiosity, as another member brought this up:
Is the hate mail you've been receiving, primarily  because you're originally from Russia, and the idiots are directing some anti-Russian idiocy towards you?

Or is the hate mail due to them not liking what you've written about your experiences living in Russia before immigrating here?

Ignore them. If they thought they were not in a massive minority they would have called you out in public hoping for a bandwagon pile on. They chose email because they know very few here would share their opinion of you.

Please don't let them win! Keep posting!

Ignore the haters.  The rest of us are open minded enough to realize that the human experience transcends any nationality, ethnic origin, reglious or political ideology and even time.   It's been said by men wiser than myself:

1) He who does not know history is doomed to repeat it;
2) Of three men walking down the street, one can be my teacher, and;
3) It is better to profit from the mistakes of others than experience it first hand.

So carry on and thank you.

It takes a LOT MORE to bring me down. LOL. I have thick skin and have been called worse, believe me.
I will not get down to their level and post e-mail addresses or names (most likely fake) in this thread. Like I said, after the latest election a lot of people were butt hurt and Russians are being universally hated across the country now.

I was expecting "Putin bots" and Russian "cotton head patriot dummies"  to begin spewing hate right after my first post in this thread.
What also concerns me are my friends and relatives, who live in Russia. What's happening there nowadays, greatly disturbs me. The level of brainwashing and anti-western propaganda is simply astonishing. Putin is portrayed as a hero that will save the world. Some repressions have already started. I think it will only get worse and they begin arresting people for their political views and comments. I hope I'm wrong but it has already happened back in the 1930's. Very few people objected and they were the ones to disappear in the middle of the night. The rest of the soviet citizens believed that Stalin was their savior and the world's leader for peace and happiness.

It has been long enough for people to forget and other to have never known the truth. We have our own
brainwashed masses here that do not see the evil in socialism/communism. It is disturbing how they ignore
the facts right in front of their faces.

Yep...

I was posted at the US Embassy in Moscow in the late 80s. Most of my Pix are 35mm, but some have been scanned in. Here are a few.

This is one a a couple dozen gas stations in Moscow:



Ice cream vending station. It was very good.



Soft drink beverage station. There are no choices, and you have to reuse the glass.



Bananas for sale. Note the long line. Note they are not ripe. So rare, they do not even make it to the store shelf.



Typical meat market. Not too crowded, as there is not much choice.



And what choice there is, nobody wants.

+87.

Good stuff, sir.  Please keep this thread alive.

The haters can go pound salt.  Cowards hide behind anonymity because they can't comprehend the conception of education through experience and true knowledge.

History repeats it self, and those who choose to act like an ostrich and stick there head in the sand, only in a poor attempt to ignore reality, because those who fail to embrace history, educate, learn from the mistakes will be doomed to repeat them.

This is a good thread full of real life, historical information that is worth being soaked up.  If people cant handle that then don't click, don't read, grow up.



-Still subscribed and looking forward to future posts.

Cool pix, thanks for sharing.

Good.

Please keep posting your experiences. Like I said before, this is my favorite thread on ARFCOM.

You mentioned that repressions have started again in Russia. Would you care to expand on that? What's going on?

I have a co-worker who grew up in Soviet Latvia.  She said she did not taste a banana until she was 7 years old.  They simply weren't available.

I have heard this was quite common, the Soviet educational system turned out many competent medical providers but they simply did not have the needed supplies, often they were imported and cost HARD MONEY and so were simply unavailable.

If you needed a procedure, you had to bring your own supplies to the clinics or hospitals. This is why I stock a metric shit ton of medical supplies. Piles of stuff literally. One of my buddies works for a large clinic and anytime they are getting rid of stuff that is out of date- suture kits, bandages, single use instruments etc... it gets vacuum packed- if appropriate, and stashed away. I probably have almost as much in terms of medical supplies as I do food....

Gyprat,

You have helped a lot of good people with your writing here.

I would love to hear about Chernobyl.  Also your grandpa's war experiences.  My father served in the war (I think I'm older than you) and his stories boggled my tiny little mind.

Thank you for your postings, they are excellent.


Cat

Fun thread. Thank you all for posting. Also, Gyprat, your writing is as good as any of the rest of us so give yourself credit!

Amazing thread. I have been immersed in it, reading through all the posts for the past few days, as time permitted. It was almost like time traveling, seeing how long ago the thread itself started, and then getting to experience vicariously the various eras in history with stories that really make them come alive for me...post WWII, the 80s, etc. What a ride, and I am sorry to be caught up to "today" with no more posts to read.

Thank you so much to all the posters who have shared their experiences, especially Gyprat, but also the others who popped in with some great contributions. I would love to read (and learn) more, if any of you are still following this thread. I know Gyprat is probably busy with his real life, but he did mention he was going to make a post about Chernoble when he got sidetracked answering another question. I enjoyed reading the "sidetrack" post, but would also love to hear his Chernoble story, and any others that come to mind.

The only contribution I can make to this thread is a brief second-hand story related to me by one of my students back in the early 90s. She had been a high school exchange student who got to spend her exchange year in the USSR, this would have probably been sometime in the very late 80s, '89 or so. I no longer recall where exactly, I am thinking it was Moscow, but could be wrong. She said her host family was amazing, and she loved them very much hated to leave them by the end of her stay, but that the first night she got there, all tired from the long trip and homesick, she pretty much thought they were trying to kill her, since they laid out a feast full of delicacies for her as a welcome that, like one of Gyprat's earlier posts mentioned, probably cost the host family at least a month's worth of wages. Much of the food was strange to her American teenager palate...she enjoyed some of the items, but some was not to her liking. She said the worst thing was a large glass of milk (?) that was, to her tastes, pretty much spoiled, at room temperature, with lumps and a sour taste. She said the entire family (three generations; grandparents, parents and I forget how many kids, at least two I think) eagerly watched her drink that nasty (to her) glass of milk (? not sure if it was actually milk, maybe it was a kind of buttermilk or yogurt culture of some sort) and no one else had any of it, it was all for her, and she realized, as their honored guest, that the family had deprived themselves of something they (especially the kids) would have enjoyed very much, so she choked it down and managed to keep it down without gagging, but said she thought she was going to die from some weird food poisoning on her first night there, lol.

She said the exchange program had given her some background on what to expect, much of which would be jarring to her over there, coming from a typical middle class teenager (used to full-to-bursting supermarkets, department stores, malls, etc) kind of background here. She said this entire three generational family was crammed into a small two bedroom apartment (although there was an alcove or a nook that made it almost a three "bedroom") even though both the mom and dad were highly educated professionals (at least one, the mom I think, was a doctor), and that hosting her clearly put a strain a the family's resources, space and foodwise, but that they thought it was a huge honor to host her. They were great to her, treated her like a member of the family from pretty much day one, and she hated to leave them when her time was up, but that what she lived through over there (even as a pampered guest!) really made her appreciate what she came back home to.  She deeply missed the people she had bonded with while there, but most definitely did not miss the "place," was the gist I gathered from the few stories she shared. I wish now I had asked her more about her experiences over there.

Could you speak to the abundance and quality of the water? Could you trust the tap water? Was tap water always available? Was bottled water available / trustworthy? Was any purification available to you in case you were unsure of the source quality?

Secondly, were there any things you had in abundance? We've read about the natural gas abundance which suprised me for sure. Anything else that you wouldn't have guessed would NOT be in shortage?

Here's an Eastern European who talks about economic collapse.  His keys to survival include:

Careful investments
Minimalistic lifestyle
low profile



Signs of collapse:  First, disappearance of the middle collapse.  Second, the impoverishment of everybody.  Most are affected in a negative way.  He says we have food banks here in the West with working people going to supplement their larder.

Things to do:  learn to garden and raise critters (chickens).

Here is the guy's U-Tube channel (Tough Times Channel):  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBXazqyxLgiq7sLlp3YqOoQ

I think we are very fortunate to have Gyprat and others here who share their insights and experience.  It is not an anti-Russian or Soviet (as much as I dislike socialism) thing but something that impacts individual cultures and especially ignores time.  The U.S. emerged from the Revolution with its runaway hyper-inflation ("not worth a continental").  The Confederacy suffered the same fate as its dollars became worthless.  The collapse the speaker discusses is ongoing in Venezuela today, Greece (if you're not familiar with austerity and how the nation is raped of its wealth, you'd better find out), Spain & Italy, Weimar Germany, China in the '30s, the United States in the '30s), etc.  We are fools if we do not learn from them.

We have something similar happening here IMO.  The younger generation that was not raised during the cold war has rejected capitalism in favor or socialism.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/26/a-majority-of-millennials-now-reject-capitalism-poll-shows/?utm_term=.6d25cd86ab16  -  I suspect that having no real experience of the evils of socialism has made the difference.

I suppose that the Russian people are better off now (despite the incredible faults of the current system), but ironically we are not.  When the USSR existed Americans could see how terrible a system designed by international socialists could really be.  Without that example the young people are easily fooled.